THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 20th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CIX
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Top NewsPresented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 20th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CIX
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by Phil Allaway
Jason Leffler Funeral Held
On Wednesday, hundreds of friends, family and NASCAR fixtures (including roughly a dozen Sprint Cup drivers) paid their final respects to Jason Leffler, who died June 12th in a Sprint Cup crash at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey. Leffler was 37 years old. Services were held in Cornelius, N.C.
These days, funeral services tend to fall into two types. One type is a memorial service in which the deceased is mourned. The result is typically a very sad, often detached memorial. The other type is where the deceased's life is celebrated in such a fashion where attendees feel comfortable discussing memories in a matter that could be considered more uplifting. Leffler's service, even though it did feature some sad moments, appeared to be the latter of the two.
The roughly 800 attendees were treated to multiple speakers who talked about Leffler's love of racing and of his son, Charlie. There was also a montage of photos that spanned much of Leffler's life, from his days as a precocious child through much of his racing career. The theme of much of the ceremony was how much Leffler adored Charlie, who seemed to have changed Leffler significantly as a human being. Once Charlie was born, Leffler changed his tune to become a doting father (in addition to a regular racer).
The investigation into the driver's fatal crash continues.
Atlanta Tire Test Wraps Up
Wednesday was the second and final day of a Goodyear tire test at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The goal, as always, was to find the proper tire compound for the upcoming Sprint Cup/Nationwide Series races on Labor Day weekend. The tire test marked the first time that the new Gen-6 car turned laps on the abrasive, 1.54-mile quad-oval.
As compared to normal, Wednesday's portion of the tire test was a little smaller than average. Only three teams were present for Day No. 2. Hendrick Motorsports' Dale Earnhardt, Jr. represented Chevrolet at the test. Earnhardt Jr. replaced Kasey Kahne, who left after Tuesday's on-track action to go to Jason Leffler's funeral. Ford was represented by Richard Petty Motorsports' Marcos Ambrose and the Wood Brothers' Trevor Bayne. Bayne was subbing for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who also left to attend Leffler's funeral. Toyota did not have a representative at the test.
The verdict so far, from those who were in attendance was the same as most other tracks: the new car will be faster than the old COT.
"I think, based on what we've seen the new car is definitely faster. I don't know if it is track-record fast, because that was set a long time ago," said Rick Campbell, NASCAR's Project Manager for Goodyear. "It's certainly way faster than last year's car and I expect the speeds to be significantly faster than last year."
Unlike normal procedure for tire tests, there were a couple of lap speeds released. Among them was Earnhardt Jr.'s, who set a personal best lap of 188.690 mph with a race setup in the heat of the day on Wednesday. That is faster than the pole speed at any of the four race weekends since the Fall race was moved to Labor Day weekend in 2009.
Audi on Provisional Pole for Le Mans
Wednesday night marked the opening qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled to begin Saturday afternoon (early morning in the United States). In order to maximize speeds and allow drivers to get in their minimum required number of laps at night, qualifying sessions began at 10 PM local time. The session did not really bring much in the way of surprises.
Audi, with their R18 e-tron quattros, swept the top-3 positions. The No. 2 entry shared by eight-time winner Tom Kristensen, Loic Duval and Allan McNish set the fastest time with a lap of 3:22.349 (150.350 mph). This was a full two seconds quicker than the No. 3 Audi of Marc Gene, Oliver Jarvis and Lucas di Grassi and three seconds faster than the No. 1 of Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fässler.
The fastest Toyota was the No. 7 of Alexander Wurz, Kazuki Nakajima and Nicolas Lapierre with a lap of 3:26.676, good for fourth quickest.
In LMP2, the No. 26 G-Drive Racing ORECA 03-Nissan shared by recent IndyCar surprise at Detroit Mike Conway, Roman Rusinov and John Martin was quickest with a lap of 3:39.535 (138.57 mph), the only car in the class to turn a lap under 3:40 around the eight-plus mile circuit. They were 1.2 seconds faster than the No. 43 Morand Racing Morgan-Judd.
Also of note, the two-car Lotus team is expected to race on Saturday. Earlier this week, parts and pieces, including the team's steering wheels were seized by a French court due to alleged debts. However, that ruling was overturned, allowing the team to get their parts back so that they could rebuild the cars. The No. 31 was 13th quickest out of 22 LMP2 entries. The No. 32 was unable to make it out on-track before the session was curtailed due to a crash.
In GTE-Pro, the No. 99 Aston Martin of Bruno Senna, Rob Bell and Frederic Makowiecki was fastest with a lap of 3:55.658 (129.084 mph), a quarter-second faster than the No. 51 AF-Corse Ferrari 458 Italia. Rolex Series regulars Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana, along with part-timer Pedro Lamy were fourth fastest in the No. 98 Aston Martin. The fastest of the ALMS teams was the No. 73 Chevrolet Corvette of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor in eighth.
In GTE-Am, the No. 95 Aston Martin of Allan Simonsen, Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen was quickest with a lap of 3:58.661 (127.472 mph). This lap was roughly six-tenths of a second quicker than the Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 911. The Dempsey/Del Piero No. 77 Porsche shared by Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Long and Joe Foster was seventh in class, while the No. 50 Larbre Corvette with Ricky Taylor on the driving roster was tenth quickest.
Qualifying is scheduled to continue tonight at 10 PM local time (4 PM ET), despite a 40 percent chance of rain. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM Saturday on SPEED.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, these entries are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Toyota Save Mart 350: 43 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 35 - Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports
No. 52 - Paulie Harraka for BK Motorsports/Go Green Racing
No. 55 - Brian Vickers for Michael Waltrip Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 7 - Justin Marks is in the seat, replacing Dave Blaney. This will be Marks' Sprint Cup Series debut, a one-race deal for the road course.
No. 19 - Alex Kennedy is in the seat, replacing Mike Bliss. This will be Kennedy's Sprint Cup Series debut and he will go the distance with proper sponsorship.
No. 32 - Boris Said returns to the seat, replacing Ken Schrader. Said will run the races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen with this team.
No. 33 - Ron Fellows is in the seat, replacing Austin Dillon. Sunday will mark Fellows' first Sprint Cup start since 2011.
No. 36 - Victor Gonzalez, Jr. is in the seat, replacing JJ Yeley. This race will be Gonzalez' Sprint Cup Series debut.
No. 47 - Bobby Labonte returns to the seat, replacing AJ Allmendinger. Labonte was replaced for a race while JTG evaluated their equipment.
No. 51 - Jacques Villeneuve is in the seat, replacing Bobby Labonte. Villeneuve joins the rotating cast of drivers at Phoenix Racing.
No. 52 - Paulie Harraka is in the seat, replacing Brian Keselowski. Sunday will be Harraka's Sprint Cup Series debut.
No. 55 - Brian Vickers returns to the seat, replacing Mark Martin. Jason Bowles will practice and qualify the car, however because Vickers will be at Road America. As a result, Vickers will have to start the race at the rear of the field.
No. 87 - Tomy Drissi is in the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek. The Grand-Am Series driver has a one-race deal.
Since there are only 43 entries, no one will fail to qualify.
Not Entered:
No. 21 - Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 44 - Scott Riggs for Xxxtreme Motorsports
No. 98 - Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing
Nationwide Series Johnsonville Sausage 200: 43 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18 - Michael McDowell for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21 - Brendan Gaughan for Richard Childress Racing
No. 22 - AJ Allmendinger for Penske Racing
No. 34 - James Buescher for Turner Scott Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 00 - Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing Ken Butler, III. Koch is SR2 Motorsports' full-time driver.
No. 5 - Johnny O'Connell is in the seat, replacing Brad Sweet. This will be O'Connell's Nationwide Series debut.
No. 16 - Billy Johnson is in the seat, replacing Chris Buescher.
No. 18 - Michael McDowell returns to the seat, replacing Matt Kenseth.
No. 21 - Brendan Gaughan is in the seat, replacing Dakoda Armstrong.
No. 22 - AJ Allmendinger is in the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 23 - Stanton Barrett is in the seat, replacing Scott Riggs.
No. 24 - Derek White returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 33 - Max Papis returns to the seat, replacing Paul Menard.
No. 34 - James Buescher is in the seat, replacing Danica Patrick. Saturday will mark Buescher's first Nationwide Series start of 2013.
No. 52 - An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Joey Gase.
No. 53 - Andrew Ranger returns to the seat, replacing Eric Curran.
No. 54 - Owen Kelly is in the seat, replacing Kyle Busch.
No. 70 - Tony Raines returns to the seat, replacing Johanna Long.
No. 74 - Kevin O'Connell is in the seat, replacing Juan Carlos Blum. Mike Harmon was originally entered.
No. 87 - Kyle Kelley is in the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 00 - Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports
No. 10 - Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 15 - Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 16 - Billy Johnson for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 18 - Michael McDowell for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21 - Brendan Gaughan for Richard Childress Racing
No. 26 - John Young for Apex Racing
No. 34 - James Buescher for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 52 - Unknown driver for Jimmy Means Motorsports
No. 53 - Andrew Ranger for NDS Motorsports
No. 74 - Kevin O'Connell for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 75 - Kenny Habul for SunEnergy1 Racing
No. 92 - Dexter Stacey for KH Motorsports
*- Expected to Start-and-Park
Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 42 - T.J. Bell for The Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 89 - Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
Not Entered:
No. 46 - JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC
Izod IndyCar Series Iowa Corn Indy 250: 24 cars entered
Driver Change:
No. 4 - Oriol Servia returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Briscoe. Briscoe is competing in the 24 Hours of LeMans.
Entries:
No. 1 - Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 3 - Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 4 - Oriol Servia for Panther Racing
No. 5- E.J. Viso for Andretti Autosport
No. 6 - Sebastian Saavedra for Dragon Racing
No. 7 - Sebastien Bourdais for Dragon Racing
No. 9 - Scott Dixon for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10 - Dario Franchitti for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 11 - Tony Kanaan for KV Racing Technologies
No. 12 - Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14 - Takuma Sato for A.J. Foyt Enterprises
No. 15 - Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 16 - James Jakes for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 18 - Unknown driver for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19 - Justin Wilson for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 20 - Ed Carpenter for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 25 - Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27 - James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport
No. 55 - Tristan Vautier for Schmidt Peterson Racing
No. 67 - Josef Newgarden for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 77 - Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt Hamilton Racing
No. 78 - Simona de Silvestro for KV Racing Technologies
No. 83 - Charlie Kimball for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 98 - Alex Tagliani for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans: 56 cars entered
Prototype 1 (P1) Entries: 8
No. 1 - Andre Lotterer/Marcel Fässler/Benoit Treluyer for Audi Sport Team Joest
No. 2 - Tom Kristensen/Loic Duval/Allan McNish for Audi Sport Team Joest
No. 3 - Marc Gene/Lucas di Grassi/Oliver Jarvis for Audi Sport Team Joest
No. 7 - Alexander Wurz/Nicolas Lapierre/Kazuki Nakajima for Toyota Racing
No. 8 - Sebastien Buemi/Anthony Davidson/Stephane Sarrazin for Toyota Racing
No. 12 - Neel Jani/Nick Heidfeld/Nicolas Prost for Rebellion Racing
No. 13 - Andrea Belicchi/Mathias Beche/Congfu Cheng for Rebellion Racing
No. 21 - Nick Leventis/Danny Watts/Jonny Kane for Strakka Racing
Prototype 2 (P2) Entries: 22
No. 24 - Olivier Pla/David Heinemeier Hansson/Alex Brundle for Oak Racing
No. 25 - Tor Graves/Shinji Nakano/Archie Hamilton for Delta-ADR
No. 26 - Roman Rusinov/John Martin/Mike Conway for G-Drive Racing
No. 28 - Fabien Giroix/Philippe Haezebrouck/Keiko Ihara for Gulf Racing Middle East
No. 30 - Johnny Mowlem/Anthony Burgess/Jonathan Hirschi for HVM Status GP
No. 31 - Kevin Weeda/James Rossiter/Christophe Bouchut for Lotus
No. 32 - Thomas Holzer/Jan Charouz/Dominik Kraihamer for Lotus
No. 33 - Scott Tucker/Marino Franchitti/Ryan Briscoe for Level 5 Motorsports
No. 34 - Michel Frey/Patric Niederhauser/Jeroen Bleekemolen for Race Performance
No. 35 - Bertrand Baguette/Ricardo Gonzalez/Martin Plowman for Oak Racing
No. 36 - Nelson Panciatici/Pierre Ragues/Tristan Gommendy for Signatech Alpine
No. 38 - Simon Dolan/Oliver Turvey/Lucas Luhr for Jota Sport
No. 39 - Olivier Porta/Stephane Raffin/Romain Brandela for DKR Engineering
No. 40 - Matt Downs/Tom Dagoneau/Rodin Younessi for Boutsen Ginion Racing
No. 41 - Tom Kimber-Smith/Eric Lux/Alexander Rossi for Greaves Motorsport
No. 42 - Michael Krumm/Lucas Ordonez/Jann Mardenborough for Greaves Motorsport
No. 43 - Natacha Gachnang/Franck Mailleux/Olivier Lombard for Morand Racing
No. 45 - Jacques Nicolet/Jean-Marc Merlin/Philippe Mondolot for Oak Racing
No. 46 - Pierre Thiriet/Ludovic Badey/Maxime Martin for Thiriet by TDS Racing
No. 47 - Alexandre Imperatiori/Ho-Pin Tung/Matthew Howson for KCMG
No. 48 - Brendon Hartley/Mark Patterson/Karun Chandhok for Murphy Prototypes
No. 49 - Luis Perez Companc/Pierre Kaffer/Nicolas Minassian for Pecom Racing
Grand Touring Endurance Professional (GTE-Pro) Entries: 13
No. 51 - Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni/Giancarlo Fisichella/Matteu Malucelli for AF-Corse
No. 53 - Ryan Dalziel/Dominik Farnbacher/Marc Goossens for SRT Motorsports
No. 66 - Andrea Bertolini/Abdulaziz Turki al-Faisal/Khaled al-Qubaisi for JMW Motorsport
No. 71 - Olivier Beretta/Kamui Kobayashi/Toni Vilander for AF-Corse
No. 73 - Jan Magnussen/Jordan Taylor/Antonio Garcia for Corvette Racing
No. 74 - Oliver Gavin/Tom Milner/Richard Westbrook for Corvette Racing
No. 75 - Emmanuel Collard/Francois Perrodo/Sebastien Crubile for ProSpeed Competition
No. 91 - Jorg Bergmeister/Patrick Pilet/Timo Bernhard for Porsche AG Team Manthey
No. 92 - Marc Lieb/Richard Lietz/Romain Dumas for Porsche AG Team Manthey
No. 93 - Jonathan Bomarito/Tommy Kendall/Kuno Wittmer for SRT Motorsports
No. 97 - Peter Dumbreck/Stefan Mucke/Darren Turner for Aston Martin Racing
No. 98 - Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana/Pedro Lamy for Aston Martin Racing
No. 99 - Robert Bell/Bruno Senna/Frederic Makowiecki for Aston Martin Racing
Grand Touring Endurance Amateur (GTE-Am) Entries: 13
No. 50 - Ricky Taylor/Patrick Bornhauser/Julien Canal for Larbre Competition
No. 54 - Yannick Mallegol/Jean-Marc Bachelier/Howard Blank for AF-Corse
No. 55 - Piergiuseppe Perrazini/Lorenzo Case/Darryl O'Young for AF-Corse
No. 57 - Tracy Krohn/Nic Jonsson/Maurizio Mediani for Krohn Racing
No. 61 - Jack Gerber/Marco Cioci/Matthew Griffin for AF-Corse
No. 67 - Pascal Gibon/Patrice Milesi/Wolf Henzler for IMSA Performance Matmut
No. 70 - Cooper MacNeil/Manuel Rodrigues/Philippe Dumas for Larbre Competition
No. 76 - Raymond Narac/Christophe Bourret/Jean-Karl "JK" Vernay for IMSA Performance Matmut
No. 77 - Patrick Dempsey/Joe Foster/Patrick Long for Dempsey Del Piero Racing
No. 81 - Rui Aguas/Enzo Potolicchio/Jason Bright for 8 Star Motorsports
No. 88 - Christian Ried/Gianluca Roda/Paolo Ruberti for Proton Competition
No. 95 - Christoffer Nygaard/Kristian Poulsen/Allan Simonsen for Aston Martin Racing
No. 96 - Jamie Campbell-Walter/Roald Goethe/Stuart Hall for Aston Martin Racing
Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Quick Hits for June 20th
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Quick Hits for June 20th
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
Brad Keselowski got himself into some hot water last week with his comments that Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing had poached personnel from Roush and Penske in the offseason, which helped to set the Ford teams back a bit. Even Roger Penske's statements had a bit of a "just STFU" tone to them.
Personally, I say cut Brad some slack. I can see him working his angle. He's won a title, he wants to be a champion, and he has a sincere desire to affect change and make the sport better. By speaking out on things he feels strongly about, he feels he is doing that. Instead, he's drug over the coals for it, whether it's over being the subject of increased scrutiny in the garage, how better the sport can be covered and marketed, or the top two teams in racing this year absorbing personnel. Everyone wants it both ways; rattle off the sponsor list, and you're a bland vanilla nobody. Go after reporters and tear up their notes, and you're a red-faced maniac. Cuss and swear, pound soda cookies, go after guys on pit road, and… well, nobody really seems to have a problem with that. Brad apparently just needs to step his rhetoric game up.
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In the aftermath of Jason Leffler's passing, it was discovered that he did not have life insurance. Drivers have many reasons for doing that, the least of which is it's either too expensive or they can't afford it. Granted, Cup drivers making Cup money is a completely different situation; however, there are others who don't do it simply out of superstition, fear, or the bad omen they get from it. It's the same reason why a lot of them don't like going to the hospital or to funerals of other drivers. It was, however inspiring to see the motorsports community as a whole band together and within 48 hours establish trust funds, memorabilia and merchandise to help support the family of a fallen competitor. Outside of the military, the only place you see this sort of camaraderie and care for one another is within motorsports.
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For road course honks, this weekend is unlike any other. There are two NASCAR races on both sides of the country at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, while the Cup Series is in Sonoma. The 24 Hours of LeMans will be aired nearly in its entirety (23 of the 24 hours) on SPEED (Editor's Note: What isn't on SPEED will be streamed live at SPEEDtv.com), and the only oval race that seems to be going on is the Izod IndyCar Series' Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday. Whenever we go road racing, though the same question arises: why isn't there a road course in The Chase? Having gone about this question for ten years now, it's high time one is added to the Chase schedule.
I always go back to how great of a scene would it be for an autumn backdrop of orange, yellow, and red in Watkins Glen as the Cup cars thunder up the backstretch into the Bus Stop chicane… likely dodging furry woodland dwellers. Are deer whistles and doe estrus an approved modification? Can they be mounted on the hood pins? If we're going to crown a champion of an entire sport, one track of each variation needs to be represented – if you're going to have Talladega and Martinsville, why is a road course out of the question?
After all, a road course ringer hasn't had much of an impact since Boris Said tried that video game divebomb at Watkins Glen years ago, or Mark Donohue's win in a Penske AMC Matador at Riverside in 1973. Furthermore, if we're going to do something with the schedule, add another roadie throughout the season. They have become what short tracks used to be, with beating, banging, gouging, and the best last-lap battles all year long. Some argue that road racing "ain't NASCAR," that it is an oval-track series. Nothing could be more misinformed, ignorant, and just plain wrong. Anybody remember the old Daytona Beach course? Does that resemble any track we currently race on? Watkins Glen held a Cup race as early as 1957, while Riverside held two races every year from 1963-'87. One of Richard Petty's 14 wins in 1963 was at Bridgehampton Raceway, a road course on Long Island in New York. Anyone remember when one of the races in the IROC Series was on the airport runway in Cleveland?
Something is needed to help generate some new blood and life into The Chase, and the sport as well besides bloated sticker cars that exacerbate aerodynamic dependency and insane speeds brought about by engines knocking on the door of 1,000hp in a couple of years. What is certainly not needed is another Las Vegas or Kentucky, unless the goal is to kill any and all excitement or interest surrounding the Chase and drive a stake through the heart of the sport, permanently.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer/Assistant Editor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @VitoPugliese.
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The Critic's Annex: IndyCar Tripleheader
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming available to fans. While the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were racing in Michigan, the Izod IndyCar Series was racing on the other side of Lake Michigan, in Wisconsin at The Milwaukee Mile. In a change from last year, the NBC Sports Network televised the race instead of ESPN.
However, before we start, I have a programming note for you that refers to the Izod IndyCar Series. This weekend in Iowa, the series will have three 50-lap heat races that will be used to determine the grid for Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250. Earlier this week, IndyCar announced that the heat races will be available via free streaming starting at 6:45 PM ET Saturday evening. Viewers can watch at indycar.com, or on the IndyCar 13 app (streaming available in the app for Verizon Wireless customers only). With that said, on to the critique.
There were a couple of changes to the on-air lineup due to TNT's NASCAR Summer Series currently going on. Wally Dallenbach was not at the track, so David Hobbs filled in. It was easy for him to do since he lives in the Milwaukee area (he owns a Honda dealership up there). However, despite over 30 years of experience commentating on races dating back to the 1970s, I cannot recall Hobbs ever calling an IndyCar race. He's called sports car races, Formula One for over 20 years, and Sprint Cup, but not IndyCar. My guess is that it's because Hobbs spent a lot of years at CBS after they lost the rights to USAC races and didn't make the jump to cable until the late 1980s. Here, Hobbs told a little story about how he fell in love with The Milwaukee Mile after moving to the area in 1993, then taking in the Miller Genuine Draft 200, won by Nigel Mansell. Overall, I thought he did a great job. Sure, it was a little different than what we normally see on Formula One telecasts from him, but he was quite informative.
Also, Marty Snider was absent due to Michigan responsibilities as well. Will Buxton, who was already supposed to be at least part-time on NBC Sports Network's Izod IndyCar Series telecasts this year, filled in and did a pretty good job.
Pre-race coverage (IndyCar Live Presented by Verizon) didn't have any features, but it did have five regular driver interviews, plus six more interviews during the Grid Run. This grid run was different than normal since Buxton was there. As a result, NBC Sports Network decided to do a dual run with Buxton and Robin Miller. It was a little weird to watch, to be honest. There also a special track lap done in an early 1930s race car. Townsend Bell drove the beastly creature, valued at $4 million, while Hobbs had to sit next to him and operate the fuel pump. Let's just say that it looked cramped in there. However, it seemed that both Bell and Hobbs were having a great time.
Since this was Father's Day weekend, there was a montage of IndyCar drivers (Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, etc.) spending time with their kids. Admittedly, there was nowhere near as much attention given to it as TNT did on Sunday. Also, there was a brief remembrance of Jason Leffler, who made three career starts in the Izod IndyCar Series in 1999 and 2000.
The race telecast itself was quite good. There were quite a lot of battles for position on track, and NBC Sports Network did a good job showing that action. Hobbs ingratiated himself into the telecast very well. I suppose that working with Leigh Diffey does help here since Hobbs has a fair amount of experience working with him, not just on the NBC Sports Network, but in the past when Diffey would fill in for Bob Varsha on Formula One telecasts on SPEED -- and at the Rolex 24.
Townsend Bell is great in the booth. He's always quick with good anecdotes and the fact that he's been in the car recently does help. Bell's driven in three races at Milwaukee (two in the IndyCar Series and one in CART) plus run well in them, so he has a basic idea as to what needs to be done to do well.
Since the race ended pretty quickly, there was a pretty good amount of post-race coverage. NBC Sports Network provided viewers with seven post-race driver interviews, plus checks of the unofficial results and point standings.
Overall, I enjoyed the NBC Sports Network telecast Saturday from Milwaukee. There was a lot of good action out on track and the booth was quite enthusiastic about the action. Couldn't be happier. I just wish that more people could watch. I have no idea who came up with the idea of starting the race at 3:40 PM local time on a Saturday. Plus, we still have the availability issues that the NBC Sports Network has (not just with cable systems outright not carrying it, but carrying it in the most expensive tier). The race's status for 2014 is still officially up in the air, but Michael Andretti does have the desire to continue promoting the Milwaukee IndyFest (his contract expired after last weekend's race).
I hope you enjoyed this look at the Milwaukee IndyFest. Next week, we'll be back with another race telecast to look at. Until then, enjoy the road racing this weekend in Sonoma, Le Mans and Elkhart Lake.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the Milwaukee IndyFest. Next week, we'll be back with another race telecast to look at. Until then, enjoy the road racing this weekend in Sonoma, Le Mans and Elkhart Lake.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Frontstretch Line of the Week
Top Ten Thoughts Drivers Are Thinking On A Road Course
2. "Someone tell Boris Said his hair is blocking my view." - Frontstretch Staff
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ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Mirror Driving: Wrapping Up Grille-Gate, Setting Up Sonoma, And Regan Smith's Future
ADVERTISEMENT
Race fans, do you love Frontstretch.com's coverage of NASCAR's top 3 series, IndyCar, Formula One and Short Track Racing? Do you want to read even more about your favorite sport? Then check out the industry's newest racing publication, Motorsport Illustrated News!, which is available both in print and in digital format! As one of our loyal readers, you'll receive 15% off any subscription when you use the coupon code fs2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
Top Ten Thoughts Drivers Are Thinking On A Road Course
2. "Someone tell Boris Said his hair is blocking my view." - Frontstretch Staff
~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Mirror Driving: Wrapping Up Grille-Gate, Setting Up Sonoma, And Regan Smith's Future
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Jeff Wolfe
NASCAR Mailbox: Leffler, Less Seats, And Loyalty
by Summer Bedgood
Truckin' Thursdays: Bodine Replaced At ThorSport For Kentucky
by Beth Lunkenheimer
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Ward Burton had a somewhat mixed record at Sonoma, scoring three top-10 finishes there in 11 starts. In 2000, though Burton had a mishap during qualifying. What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Sonoma has been witness to a number of unusual wrecks over the years. In qualifying for the 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300, Rich Woodland, Jr. fell victim to one of those strange crashes. What happened?
A: Since qualifying was not televised for the race back in 1994, it is a bit unclear as to how a crash occurred, but there is photographic proof of the aftermath. It appears that Woodland lost control of his No. 86 Chevrolet Lumina and spun in Turn 10. The car impacted the tire barriers, then climbed the wall and went through the relatively short catchfence. The car then rolled over and came to rest upside down, outside of the track. Woodland was OK, but his car was thrashed. Needless to say, he failed to qualify.
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Frontstretch Folio: Sonoma by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Sonoma by Matt Stallknecht
Matt will get your engines revved up for 2013 with a preview of this weekend's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
IndyCar In-Depth by P. Huston Ladner
Coming off a 250-mile race at The Milwaukee Mile, Huston previews Sunday afternoon's battle at Iowa Speedway.
Coming off a 250-mile race at The Milwaukee Mile, Huston previews Sunday afternoon's battle at Iowa Speedway.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns this week with another intriguing Friday commentary.
Nuts For Nationwide by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin has another interesting look at the Nationwide Series prior to the Johnsonville Sausage 200 at Road America.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Driver Diary: Justin Allgaier as told to Mike Neff
The driver of the No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro in the Nationwide Series returns to talk about the last few weeks on and off the track.
Formula One Fridays by Andy Hollis
Frontstretch Foto Funnies by the Frontstretch Staff
Formula One Fridays by Andy Hollis
Our expert returns with his weekly dish on what you should care about as the 2013 season in F1 rolls on.
Frontstretch Foto Funnies by the Frontstretch Staff
Pictures can lead to a thousand laughs; join us in our weekly dose of humor that comes from those candid moments at the track.
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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©2013 Frontstretch.com
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2013 Frontstretch.com
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